Clay drain tile manufacture



EXTRUDER July 27, 1965 R. R. MILLER ETAL. 3,197,530

CLAY DRAIN TILE MANUFACTURE Filed June 1v, 196s SLOTTING CUT OFFCONVEYOR DRIER eno-swims mm mE CLAY VMT-Tm@ 4 Y INVENTORS.

F' RAY R. Mlm-:R

Y/AMES R'MILLER manmgwn? United States Patent O 3,197,530 @LAY DRAENTELE lvANiJFACTUl- Ray R. Miller and .lames R. Miller, Bascom, hio, as-

signors to A. Miiier rEile Company, lascorn, (Ehio, a corporation oi@hie Filed .inne 1.7, 1963, Ser. No. 88,113 3 Claims. (Cl. 25d- 67) Thisinvention relates to clay drain tiles and more particularly to a methodfor slotting or notching an end of each tile to provide openings for theadmission of water into the tiles when they are butted tight.

Heretoiore, clay drain tiles have been spaced in a line by hand to allowwater to run into the tiles. This procedure was necessary because theprior drain tiles were not slotted at their ends and all known machinesfor laying tiles place the tiles in the ground butted tightly together.

It was discovered more than three hundred years ago that wet farm landcould produce greater crops if the excess water were removed by tiledrainage. This discovery was promptly but to profitable use and throughthe years more and more tile drainage systems were installed. Today,tile drainage is a major soil conservation practice. Because itincreases yields, creates new productive acreage, and permits bettersoil conservation practices, a good drainage system of hard-burned,durable clay drain tile is one of the safest money-making investments alandowner can make. Many soils are acid or alkali, and clay drain tileis the only commonly used drain tile not deteriorated by such soilconditions. Also, clay drain tile has a very small rate of expansion dueto changes of temperature and moisture. Clay drain tile was used in thefirst tile drainage system installed in United States and it is stillserving perfectly.

The excess water enters the tile line at the juxtaposed ends of thetiles and not through the individual tile walls. Since there is no knownmachine which will lay the tiles in spaced-apart positions, it is theusual practice to space the unslotted clay tiles of the prior art byhand. Hand labor of this type is undesirable under modern economicconditions. It has been discovered that if the prior clay drain tilesare slotted each at one end they can be laid in the ground butted tightby tile laying machines and the water will enter the tile line throughthe slots. This procedure eliminates the need for hand-spacing of thetiles, produces a tile line that functions normally, and still producestiles which can be handled throughout the manufacture of the tiles in anormal manner. For example, end-slotted tiles can be stacked on end in akiln and hard-burned in the conventional manner.

Such discovery of the desirability of end-Slotting the tiles led to theproblem of how to slot or notch the tiles in an economic manner. Claydrain tiles are delivered at a price of around only twenty dollars a tonand any change in the conventional process of their manufacture must addlittle or nothing to the cost of manufacture to be prac ticable.

Accordingly, the obiects of this invention are to improve clay draintiles by slotting or notching their ends and to provide a method forend-slotting or end-notching such tiles which adds little or nothing totheir normal cost of manufacture.

One embodiment of this invention enabling the realization of theseobjects is a method of endslotting or endnotching clay drain tiles whilethey are being conveyed preferably between a conventional green-tile cutoli machine and a conventional drier. It is the usual practice to carrythe green tiles from such cut olf machine to such drier on a conveyorand, hence, slotting the tiles at this point in their manufacture addsnothing to their manuflh@ Patented July Z7, 1965 facturing cost, exceptfor the cost of the slotting equipment which has a nominal cost. Thetiles, also, can be slotted after they are dried but .before they areburned in a kiln.

The tiles to be slotted are stood upright upon a conveyor consisting ofseveral relatively narrow parallel belt-s. As each tile is carried alongit passes over a series of cutters which extend upward between thenarrow belts and which cut slots in the bottom end of each tile.

in accordance with the above, one feature of this invention resides inproducing clay tiles which are endnotched in such a way that they can bestacked on end one above the other in the usual manner for tiring.

Another feature resides in providing clay tiles which are suitable formechanical laying. Even though laid butted together, water enters thetile line through the notches, i.e., the notches insure the properfunctioning of the drain tiles when laid in ordinary clay soil.

Still another feature resides in notching the clay tiles while they arebeing conveyed in such a manner that little or no cost is added to theusual cost of manufacture.

The above and other objects and features of this invention will beappreciated more fully from the following detailed description when readwith reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FlG. l is a block diagram showing a conventional method for making claydrain tiles modied by the incorporation of a tile slotting step at oneof either of two places in the process;

FlG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side elevational view of theslotting conveyor shown in block form in FlG. l;

FlG. 3 is a fragmentary, plan view of the conveyor shown in FIG. 2;

EEG. 4 is a side elevational view of an end-slotted or end-notched claydrain tile produced by the slotting conveyor shown in FGS. 2 and 3; and

FiG. 5 is an end elevational view of the tile shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings, end-slotted clay drain tiles, one of which isshown in llGS. 2 and 3 prior to being end slotted or notched andidentified by the numeral lll and one of which is shown after being endslotted or notched in FIGS. 4 and 5, are made from wet clay eX- trudedfrom any suitable extrusion apparatus lll, such as an ordinary augerbrick machine. The clay is errtruded in the form of a firm cylindricalcolumn which is easily cut and which has substantially the requiredhollow cross section (the column may be flat-sided instead oi being inthe form of a cylinder). Green tiles each about twelve inches long arecut from the clay column in a cut ott machine l2. The above steps ofextrusion and cut oft are conventional in the usual practice of makingclay drain tiles.

Heretofore after being cut oli, the green tiles were placed upon asingle wide endless conveyor belt and carried to a drier i3. The greentiles were removed by hand from the conveyor belt and placed on afourwheeled car which was guided on tracks into the drier 13. The greentiles were dried for forty-eight hours .and then were removed from thecar and stacked in a kiln la and burned. The above steps of drying andburning which are conventional in the usual practice of making claydrain tiles are used in an unchanged form in making the end-slotteddrain tiles of the invention. The new step in the process of theinvention is slotting one end ofeach of the tiles while they are beingconveyed. Prior clay drain tiles were not slotted. After the tiles areremoved from the drier i3 they have the consistency of dried clay. Thedried tiles are stacked on end one above the other eleven high in thekiln lf?. The temto form'durable, Yhard-burnedV tile.

perature then is raised in the kiln 14 to 1900 degrees F. over a periodof one and one-half days and then the temperature is held at 1900degrees F. for another day Because the tiles soften in the kiln, lugs orbumps around the ends of the stacked tiles would crush. Accordingly,although there has been a need for clay tiles which can be laid buttedtightly together for many years,'the fact that the tiles soften in thekiln has prevented the problem from being solved by providing such lugsor bumps on the ends of the tiles to provide openings for the admissionof water into the tile line when the tiles are butted tight.

VAs indicated above, the method and the structures lshown in FIG. l areold except for the substitution of a slotting conveyor 1S in place ofthe above single wide endless conveyor belt. Since it is the usualpractice to Vstand the green tiles 19 upright on a conveyor belt runningbetween theV cutoff machine 12 and the drier 13, slotting or notchingthe green tiles automatically while they are being conveyed between thecut oil machine 12 and the Vdrier 13 by the slotting conveyor 15 addsnothing to the normalcost of manufacture eXcept for the small'cost ofthe slotting conveyor 15. Alternatively'although not preferred, thedried tiles lil can be carried from the drier 13 to the Vkiln 14 on theslotting conveyor 15 which as indicated in broken lines in FIG. `l canbe located between the drier 13 and the kiln 1d.

The tiles are notched by sawing or milling notches in one end of eachtile. As indicated above, the preferred point for performing the sawingor milling operation is the point immediately following the cutting ofthe continuous cylinder into twelve inch lengths. This is the preferredpoint because it is now customary to stand each green tile, immediatelyafter it is cut off, in .an upright position on a belt conveyor. Hence,automatically slotting the tiles at this point in the process addsnothing to the labor cost of the prior method, yet a superior product isobtained, i.e., one that can be laid mechanically. The tiles 10 arenotched 4automatically while they are being conveyed on the slottingconveyor 15 which includes four relatively narrow V-belts lo instead ofthe single wide belt heretofore used. vAs each tile 1t) is carried alongin an upright position on the four parallel belts 15, it passes overthree rotary carbide tipped saws 17 which extend upward between thenarrow belts and which cut notches 1S in the bottom end of each tile10.: The cutters each may consist of a milling cutter or a saw bladewhich travels back and forth laterally of the 'tile so as to produce arelatively wide notch. In actual practice, the notches 1S are Vaboutone-eighth inch deep and One-haIf-inch wide. As indicated above,

Vit also is possible to cut the notches 18 in each tile 1G after it isdried and before it is fired. One of the features resides in notchingthe clay tiles while they are being conveyed in such a manner thatlittle or no cost is added to the usual cost of manufacture.V Y

The notches 13 which are cut Vin one end of each of the tiles areimportant to insure 'the proper functioning of the drain tiles when laidin ordinary clay soil. Heretofore, it has been necessary to lay ordinaryunnotched tile in such soil with a small space between Vadjacent tiles.Such a small space can be provided when the tile is laid in a ditch byhand. The most modern practice, however, is to lay` the tilesmechanically, and in laying the tiles mechanically it is much moreconvenient to butt the tiles. There is no convenient way of laying tilemechanically with a space between adjacent tile. The notches 18 provideopenings for the admission of water into the tiles when they are buttedtight after being laid mechanically, Le., the slotted end of one tile isbutted tight against the unslotted end of the next tile in the line. Oneofl the features resides in providing clay tiles which are suitable formechanical laying. f

The four parallel belts 15 each is driven by a driving sheave (notshown) and each runs around an idler 19, there being a driving sheaveand an idler 19 for each belt 16.l The upper runs of the belts 1o movein the direction indicated by the straight arrow in FlG. 2. The drivingsheaves and the idlers 19 are mounted for rotation on a stationary frame2g@ which also supports a Yseries of posts 21 that carry supportingguides Z2 in which the upper runs of the belts 15 slide, there being oneelongated guide 22 for each of the belts 15. The stationary frame 20also carries a flat-bottomed, U-

shaped frame Z3 which is pivoted at 24 at one end and which is connectedby means of two'bolts 25 and two wing nuts 26 to the stationary frameZtl (only one bolt V25 and nut 25 are shown). Lock nuts 27 (only oneshown) hold the frame 23 in its adjusted position, the end of the frame23 at the bolts 2.5 being adjustable up and down to adjust the depth ofthe cuts in the tiles 1@ made by the saw wheels 17 The U-shaped frame 23carries two bearing blocks 23 in which a shaft 29 is journaled, theshaft 29 having mounted thereon the three carbide tipped saw wheelsV1'2', that extend upward between the narrow belts 15,

and a pulley 39 around which a belt 31 runs. rThe U- shaped frame 23also carries a motor 32 which drives a sheave 33 that in turn drives thevbelt 31. Hence, the motor 32; drives thesaw wheels 17 through the belt31, the direction of saw rotation being Vindicated by the curved arrowin FIG. 2.

ln operation, the green tiles 10 are stood, immediately after they arecut by the cut off machine 12, in upright Vpositions on the four narrowbelts 16 which form a conveyor. No'guides or hold downs are needed forthe tiles 1 to be notched because of their great weight (about eightpounds each). As each tile 1t) is carried along in an upright positionon the four parallel belts 16, it passes over the three saw wheels 17which cut the notches 1S in the bottom end of each tile 16. The sawwheels 17 are thin relativeV tothe width of the desired notches, the sawwheels traveling back and forth laterally of the tiles so as to producea relatively wide notch. This motion is attained by making the sawwheels 17 wobble (dado mounting). However, non-wobbling saw wheels canbe used if'wider saw wheelsare used. It also is possible to cut thenotches 13 in each tile 10 after it is dried and before it is fired. Thenotches 18 do not interfere with stacking the tile on end one on top ofthe other in the kiln 14. One, of the features resides in producing claytiles which are end-notched in such a way that they can be stacked onend one above the other in the usual manner for firing.

A 'It is to be understood that the above description is il- YrelativelyYnarrow parallel conveyor belts, notching the bottom terminalend of each tile while it is being conveyed in uprightV unrestrainedposition by carrying the tiles on the conveyor belts over a series ofrotating saws extending upwardly between the narrow belts, and carryingthe tiles on the conveyor belts to aV remote position.

2. A method for making end-notched clay drain tiles comprising the stepsof extrudingclay in the form of a hollow column,l cutting green tilesfrom the hollow column, standing the green tiles in upright unrestrainedpositions on a plurality of relatively narrow parallel conveyor belts,and notching the bottom terminal end of each tile while itis beingconveyed by carrying the green tiles in upright unrestrained position onthe conveyor Vbelts over a series or rotating saws extending upwardlybetween the narrow belts.

SAQ/22:53) f5 5 3. A inetncd for making end-notched clay drain tilesReferences Cied by the Examiner comprising the steps or drying greeniles, sanding the UNITED STATES PATENTS dried tiles in uprightunresl'ained positions on a plurality of relatively narrow parallelconveyor belts, notching the 2645i?? botorn terminal end of each tileWhile it is being con- 5 1 '111535 n2 Straight; 25 1 veyed by carryingthe tiles in upright unrestrained posi- 1634789 /97 Melby tions on theconveyor belts over a series of rotating saws 8221599 Z/gs Webb 25 105extending upwardly between the narrow belts, and stackv ing theend-notched dried tiles on end one above the other ROBERT F' WHITEPrimary Emme in a kiln 0 be fired. 1G ALEXANDER H. BRODMERKEL, Examiner.

1. A METHOD FOR MAKING END-NOTCHED CLAY DRAIN TILES COMPRISING THE STEPSOF STANDING THE TILES BEFORE THEY ARE FIRED IN UPRIGHT UNRESTRAINEDPOSITIONS ON A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY NARROW PARALLEL CONVEYOR BELTS,NOTCHING THE BOTTOM TERMNAL END OF EACH TILE WHILE IT IS BEING CONVEYEDIN UPRIGHT UNRESTRAINED POSITION BY CARRYING THE TILES ON THE CONVEYORBELTS OVER A SERIES OF ROTATING SAWS EXTENDING UPWARDLY BETWEEN THENARROW BELTS, AND CARRYING THE TILES ON THE CONVEYOR BELTS TO A REMOTEPOSITION.